New plans emerging for building at 120 East State Street in Kennett Square

02/29/2016 03:47PM
● By Steven Hoffman

The
potential new owner of a building at 120 East State Street is asking
Kennett Square Borough Council to consider an economic development
liquor license application that would allow for the opening of a
full-service restaurant at the long-vacant building.

Mike
Scali, an attorney who is interested in purchasing the building to
open a restaurant, and his attorney, William J. Shehwen III, made the
request at the Feb. 16 council meeting.

Kennett
Square Borough Council president Dan Maffei noted during the
discussion that borough council’s role would simply be to sign off
on the submission of the application. It will be up to the state’s
Liquor Control Board to actually approve the application and grant
the liquor license.

Scali
and Shehwen explained that obtaining a liquor license is an essential
part of the plans to open a restaurant. The liquor license that is
being applied for would be completely non-transferable, and could not
be sold to a different owner of the same business or sold to someone
and be used at any other property.

Kennett
Square Borough Council is expected to consider a resolution regarding
the application at an upcoming meeting on Monday, March 7.

The
building at 120 East State Street was once the home of the Kennett
Cafe, but has long been shuttered. Restaurateur Jack McFadden
purchased the building nearly a decade ago and undertook a
large-scale renovation of the building with plans to open an upscale
restaurant. McFadden worked with the borough to secure a $500,000
economic development loan from the state. Plans for the building
evolved over time, with McFadden planning a wine bar and a tapas
restaurant at various times, but he never opened any business at the
location.

According
to a source with knowledge of the situation , the sale of the
building from McFadden to Scali is still pending. An agreement of
sale has been in place on the property since last December, according
to the source.